Reading Time: 4 minutes It turns out that giving cattle a rest break during long haul transport seems to make no difference to their health or welfare. That was the bottom line from a third study that explored a controversial change made by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency three years ago. “That’s where we’re at,” said Reynold Bergen, science […] Read more
Long-haul transport rules not supported by science, says cattle sector
Three studies looked for benefits of rest stops on cattle but found none
New vet database already a hit with livestock owners
It doesn’t fix the vet shortage, but can help find species-specific veterinary care closer to home
Reading Time: 2 minutes Having trouble finding a veterinarian? Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC) recently created an online database of veterinary clinics in the province. The list is searchable in a radius of up to 200 kilometres and can be refined for specific species. “We often hear of people who have diverse livestock species like llamas, alpacas, honeybees, and […] Read more
Foot-and-mouth a ticking time bomb: Is Canada prepared?
Livestock groups want millions of vaccine doses to be stockpiled but say Ottawa is ‘stalling’
Reading Time: 5 minutes Ottawa must stop ignoring requests to create a vaccine bank that could save the country’s livestock sector from a devastating a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, say provincial livestock leaders. The groups have been asking for a vaccine bank for years and in a recent letter, the chairs of Alberta’s cattle, cattle feeders, pork, sheep and goat […] Read more
Swiss reject initiative to ban factory farming
Voters back narrowly back rise in women's retirement age to 65
Geneva | Reuters — Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a proposal to ban factory farming in a referendum on whether the wealthy country’s strict animal welfare laws need to be tightened yet further. The government’s VoteInfo App showed a provisional result of 62.86 per cent of votes against the proposal, put to a referendum under […] Read more
Funding available for animal welfare initiatives
Reading Time: < 1 minute Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is spending nearly $3 million to enhance animal welfare and tracking. Animal Health Canada in Elora, Ont. will receive up to $2.9 million to update national livestock codes of practice, including the code for safe and humane transportation. The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency in Calgary will receive up to $52,140 to […] Read more
Massive new feedlot working out as planned, says owner
A lot happened while Kevin Serfas built his new operation but he says you must take the long view
Reading Time: 4 minutes The cattle business is never boring. The last two years have produced many hair-raising situations for Alberta’s cattle producers and that’s been the case for feedlot owner Kevin Serfas, who has undertaken a massive feedyard expansion. Based in Turin, about 50 kilometres north of Lethbridge, he runs Serfas Farms, a sizeable grain farm and feeder […] Read more
Icahn drops proxy fights with Kroger’s, McDonald’s
Reuters — Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is dropping a proxy fight focused on the treatment of pregnant pigs at Kroger Co. after losing a similar fight with McDonald’s Corp last month, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. “I congratulate the McDonald’s team on their victory in this proxy engagement and, after much contemplation, given the […] Read more
Alberta researcher wins animal care award
Reading Time: < 1 minute Research scientist Brenda Ralston is this year’s winner of the Award of Distinction from Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC). Currently at Lakeland College’s Vermilion campus, Ralston began her 35-year career with the province, first as a district agriculturist and then as a beef specialist while earning a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and PhD, the latter […] Read more
Learn to manage disease threats in livestock
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Animal Health Emergency Management project and its industry partners are offering a series of workshops on emergency responses to animal diseases. The three-part workshop series are based on handbooks created by the organization on topics such as “Emergency Management 101” and proactive disease management. “The one-hour sessions progressively build out important animal disease management […] Read more
AFAC and counties can identify livestock feed problems
The Alert Line is a confidential way to report animal welfare concerns in Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes This summer’s drought conditions haven’t affected the number of calls to Alberta Farm Animal Care’s Alert Line, but that could change as the weather worsens this winter. “I haven’t seen a huge jump in calls yet, but I think we’re going to be seeing some issues with feed and body condition after this drought,” said […] Read more
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